Podcast: How the coronavirus is affecting the truck market
Fleets and OEMs will not be immune to the economic impacts of the current situation.
ACT Research: Trailer net orders dropped pre-Coronavirus, now ‘most unusual’ market conditions in history
February net U.S. trailer orders of 12.7k units were down 15% month-over-month and 45% below the previous year. Before accounting for cancellations, new orders of 14.8k were down 12% versus January, according to this month’s issue of ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailer Report. “The conservative investment posture of fleets continued into February,”
ACT Research: COVID-19 has little impact on February CV data, future impact expected
According to ACT Research’s (ACT) latest State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 Report, Class 8 inventory-to-sales ratio, seasonally adjusted, hit 3.5 months in February, while the Classes 5-7 inventory-to-sales ratio dropped from a “highest in a decade” in January to 3 months in February. “From a current data perspective, regardless of source, February marks
U.S. trailer net orders closed 2019 down 51% vs. full-year 2018
While seven of the ten major trailer categories posted month-over-month gains, the sequential 32% drop in dry van orders was significant enough to pull the total industry results into the red.
ACT Research: 2020, 2021 truck market expectations tempered
According to ACT Research’s latest release of the North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook, expectations for the Class 8 and trailer production volumes have been trimmed for 2020, and expectations of recovery starting in 2021 have been tempered. Additionally, current order softness and excessive inventory building in the medium-duty sector contributed to forecast reductions in the next
Trailer orders down in November, ACT reports
Before accounting for cancellations, new orders of 21,100 trailers were off 43% month-over-month and 54% below last year.
ACT Research For-Hire Trucking Index surged in September, but capacity rebalancing process may be underway
The latest release of ACT’s For-Hire Trucking Index, with September data, showed an even stronger surge than July, with the Volume Index up to 59.6 (SA), from 47.6 in August. The September Pricing Index rebounded as well, if to a lesser degree, rising to 52.2 (SA), from 47.1 in August.
Used Class 8 orders fell in September
Preliminary used Class 8 volumes (same dealer sales) fell 5% month-over-month in September, according to the latest preliminary release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks published by ACT Research. Additionally, the report indicated that longer-term comparisons yielded a 17% decline compared to September 2018, as well as a year-to-date drop of 19%, the 11th consecutive contraction for both time period comparisons.
ACT Research: Key risk to N.A. CV market forecasts is trade war with China
According to ACT Research’s latest release of the North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook, the key risk to all vehicle market forecasts, and the U.S. economy broadly, remains the trade war with China, ACT says.
Trailer orders up month-over-month but down year-over-year
New U.S. trailer orders of 21,600 were up 44% month-over-month, and after accounting for cancellations, net orders of 18,600 hit their third sequential increase in ten months, rising 73% from August, but down 68% compared to September of 2018.
